Rhondda Cynon Taf Council is once again supporting LGBTQ+ History Month, an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bi, trans and non-binary history, including the history of LGBTQ+ rights and related civil rights movements.
This year the Council has teamed up with celebrated LGBTQ+ historian and author Norena Shopland to launch RCT’s own LGBTQ+ History Timeline - an interactive part of our community which allows local people to contribute to the timeline with stories of their own, telling the stories of LGBTQ+ people from the Rhondda Cynon Taf area.
Councillor Maureen Webber, Deputy Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, said: “We are once again delighted to be supporting LGBTQ+ History Month, an opportunity for all to share knowledge and reflect on all LGBTQ+ people and defining moments throughout history that have brought us to where we are today.
“Within Rhondda Cynon Taf, we understand that equality, respect, and dignity is important to ensuring our community is a great place to live and work. As a Council, we accept the responsibility of championing these values and showing that we understand our role in creating that community.”
As part of that celebration, a LGBTQ+ History Timeline launch is being held at A Welsh Coal Mining Experience, Rhondda Heritage Park, on Tuesday, February 28 at 2pm. All are welcome.
Norena Shopland, originally from Cardiff, has a master’s degree in heritage studies. She has worked for the British Museum, National Museums Scotland and the Museum of London along other leading heritage organisations.
She is responsible for a number of ground-breaking projects, including the first project in Wales to look at placing sexual orientation and gender identity into Welsh history, culminating in Welsh Pride, the first exhibition focusing exclusively on the country’s LGBTQ+ people, allies and events.
Having managed Gender Fluidity, the first funded transgender project in Wales, her book Forbidden Loves: LGBT Stories From Wales is the first complete historical work on Welsh sexual orientation and gender identity. Her other publications, The Curious Case of the Eisteddfod Baton, celebrates Welsh choral singing and coalmining in Wales. The Veronal Mystery examines the background of a real-life gay crime.
LGBTQ+ History Month is celebrated across the UK each February to coincide with the 2003 abolition of Section 28, meaning that schools could talk about LGBTQ+ people and their histories openly and positively, without fear of teachers losing their job. LGBTQ+ History Month was initiated in the UK by Schools Out UK in February 2005. It celebrates the lives of all LGBTQ+ people around the world.
The LGBTQ+ History Timeline launch takes place at A Welsh Coal Mining Experience, Rhondda Heritage Park, Lewis Merthyr Colliery, Trehafod, CF37 2NP, on Tuesday, February 28 at 2pm. All are welcome. For more information Email: equality@rctcbc.gov.uk
Posted on 24/02/2023